What's It All About

"How shall I go about establishing contact?" The question is asked by the main character trying to teach a stone to speak. "You can if you want to, it is not difficult, make an effort!", he hisses to the stubborn stone which remains silent. Barcelona is the setting for this Mediterranean stories by Quim Monzó. The book consists of a 30 short stories: Will-power, Wisdom, Honesty, Sincerity, Submission, Competition, Passion, Consensus, Egocentricism, Spite, Desire, Jealousy, Love, Trust and Doubt…

Born in Barcelona in 1952, Quim Monzó has been awarded the National Award for fiction; the City of Barcelona Award for fiction; the Prudenci Bertrana Award for fiction; the El Temps Award for best novel; the Lletra d'Or Prize; the Catalan Writers' Award; the Maria Àngels Anglada; the Trajectòria; he has also been awarded Serra d'Or magazine's prestigious Critics' Award, four times. In 2007 he wrote and read the opening speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Monzó designed a lecture written as if it was a short story. It differed completely from traditional speeches. Together with Cuca Canals, he wrote the dialogues for Bigas Luna's movie “Jamón, jamón”. He has also written the musical satire “El tango de Don Joan”, with Jérome Savary. He is a regular contributor to the “La Vanguardia” newspaper. “The Enormity of the Tragedy”, a brilliant grotesque novel, is regarded by many as Monzó’s greatest work.